


They were once lovers

by karikes



Category: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Genre: F/M, Mild Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-29
Updated: 2017-05-29
Packaged: 2018-11-06 14:53:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11038461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/karikes/pseuds/karikes
Summary: They can never be the same again.





	They were once lovers

**Author's Note:**

> This is just a short little drabble I wrote off of the first episode. I used the script from [here](http://www.st-minutiae.com/resources/scripts/) to make my life a little easier.

Deanna knows it even as her heart swells in her chest, even as every thought she has is directed towards the man walking through the door. It's been years since she last saw Will Riker. He looks older, as if he's grown into his aspirations. She catches her breath and smiles. She has been waiting for him, despite her self-denial.

They were once lovers.

_Do you remember what I taught you, Imzadi? Can you still sense my thoughts?_ Deanna talks to him as she used to, not at all certain he will respond. It is foolish to talk as if they still are what they once were. It is foolish even to remember it.

“A pleasure, Commander,” she says out loud, her voice melodious.

Will is obviously nervous. “I, ah... likewise, Counselor.”

He does not respond mentally.

Picard sees it. Deanna made no attempt to hide it. Will has never been excellent at hiding his feelings.

“Have the two of you met before?” Picard is looking at them inquisitively.

Deanna had been young. Will had been young too, with illusions of being older. They had not instantly acknowledged their attraction. It had simmered for months while they argued and drank and laughed together. It had been her who finally broke the tension, sending shimmering waves into his subconscious as she reeled him into her bed. 

“We... we have, sir.” Will looks slightly uncomfortable. 

It is an understatement of everything they once were. To say they have met is like saying the moons on Trivek IV are close. To say they have met is to say that the galaxy is large. To say they have met is to pretend as if they have not moved in tandem, minds touching when hands could not.

“Excellent. I consider it important that my key officers know each other's abilities.” Picard’s gaze is intense.

Deanna had been pleasantly surprised to learn that Will had some psi affinity and could converse with her as her mother had. It had been good too, when he had discovered how useful it could be in bed. It had been even better when he had actually gained some control.

“We do, sir; we do.” Deanna forces herself to keep her gaze level as she enters the turbolift. She looks back at Riker.

It had been her who wound them up tightly and snipped the knot. Neither of them had been kind when they last parted. 

_ I, too, would never say goodbye, Imzadi.  _

They had been a riotous storm of laughter and quiet, steeped in long days and nights knowing the softness of each other’s minds and bodies. 

They can never be the same again.

 


End file.
